The man who erased the line between humans and primates

MANY people have the wrong impression about primates, seeing them as combative and one-dimensional. It probably depends … residents of the posh coastal town of Pringle Bay and surrounding areas recently protested against domesticated and wild baboons.

At any rate, one day the Dutch zoologist Frans de Waal saw two chimpanzees fighting furiously then shaking hands, hugging each other and even kissing. He was astonished.

It did not fit the stereotypical portrayals by zoologists, laymen and the press. Do primates have emotional dimensions that we  know nothing about (perhaps deliberately)?

De Waal, who died in March at the age of 75, began a study in reconciliation. He wondered if these animals could teach us how to defuse conflict and vengefulness.

As a primate researcher, he investigated their temperament over decades. Initially sceptical colleagues spread across the globe were transformed into acolytes. De Waal once told the Washington Post that humans are particularly smart, but otherwise we do not fundamentally differ from our relatives.

The beginning: as a little boy, he kept a pet fish that he watched for hours. Among his other companions was a coterie of mice, frogs and birds.

National Geographic writes in its tribute (of which there were many internationally) how his pet crows flew with him when he walked to school in the morning. When the school day was over, his kindred spirits flew back home with him again.

He did poorly in biology and decided to study mathematics and physics at university. However, his mother reminded him of his great love for animals. (Indeed, what is a home without a mother?)

He enrolled at Radboud University Nijmegen. De Waal found biology somewhat dry, especially with its strong focus on anatomy. The psychology department, where he earned extra money during his studies, happened to have two chimpanzees.

“This early exposure to primates would be decisive," writes National Geographic. In 2014, he entertained an audience with a story of how lecherous the male chimpanzees would become when his female colleagues walked past the enclosure.

De Waal and a male collaborator tried to test this by dressing as women — they did not arouse any interest from the male chimpanzees. It was at this point that his lifelong curiosity over primates was born.

De Waal was initially criticised for trying to humanise primates but he dismissed this as nonsense and pointed out that it was a sign of man's hubris over animals' so-called lesser status.

Nor was he very partial to the abuse of the classification of alpha males for validating the aggressive men and bullies in the political and corporate world. The Economist reports that De Waal argued that although primates, like humans, can be violent and aggressive, they are also capable of empathy and altruism.

They have a concept of fairness, which is the foundation of humanity's moral compass — and that without any religious framework. While aggressive alpha males do sometimes rise to the top in a hierarchical chimpanzee society, this type of rule is usually short-lived and ends in execution or exile.

The most common and successful alphas are not necessarily the biggest, strongest and most vicious, they are the ones who take the pack's safety to heart, protect them, try to maintain calm among them and pacify those who are restless. So, reassuring leaders and peacemakers.

The Telegraph writes about De Waal's findings regarding their gender roles: “Gender fluidity is common among them. Bonobos, who are genetically as close to humans as chimpanzees, often have sex, some of it gay. In all primate species there are males with more feminine characteristics [I would quite like to see a camp chimpanzee! — HM] and female tomboys.”

Just like in our society, De Waal found, some do not conform to gender stereotyping. A female chimpanzee named Donna would raise her furry coat like a male and enjoy wrestling with alpha males. She showed no interest in mating with males.

A crested monkey named Lonnie's sexual relations were exclusively gay. De Waal estimated that between 5% and 10% of chimpanzee populations are gender-non-conforming.

However, unlike humans, chimpanzees and other animal primates fully accept this diversity. De Waal said: “I don't find the kind of intolerance we have in human societies, probably because religion doesn't play a role in their lives."

The Economist continues that he firmly believed in the almost tangible emotions of primates. When he looked into the eyes of a chimpanzee, an intelligent and confident animal with a strong personality looked back.

Charles Darwin felt the same way when he saw chimpanzees tickling each other and laughing exuberantly, just like his children.

De Waal wrote about how primates cooperate in work. As an example, he used two chimpanzees that together dragged a heavy box which they couldn't have moved alone.

He observed numerous cases of pure altruism — like the matriarch chimpanzee Penny, too old to walk, that was helped across large rocks and trees by other females.

Then there was the group of males licking the wounds of an injured chimpanzee. He also saw males provide childcare when females were absent, even slowing their pace through the forest to let the infants keep up.

Perhaps most touching was the apparent empathy of a female bonobo named Kuni that found an injured bird, climbed with it to the top of the tallest tree and spread its wings to encourage it to fly.

The Washington Post writes that De Waal stressed that such behaviours should not be viewed as simple versions of human interactions. Instead, he said, primates should be thought of as animals with a different but equally rich and intricate web of variously shaded emotions.

In 2016, De Waal's mentor, the biologist Jan van Hooff, visited Mama, a 59-year-old chimpanzee and alpha female, at a zoo in Arnhem. He went to say goodbye, Mama was dying.

Usually, such females do not allow anyone to get too close to them. However, Mama recognised Van Hooff. She slowly reached out her hand to hug him. Mama also gently touched his hair.

“So human," De Waal said of his friend's encounter, the video of which quickly spread around the world. It also inspired De Waal's book, Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Teach Us About Ourselves.

“There is an ostensible surprise at how human Mama's expression was and how human her gestures were," said De Waal. “And that's something that struck me. Everyone knows that chimpanzees and baboons are our closest relatives, so why wouldn't the way they express their emotions be very similar to ours?"

Maybe we should ask the people of Pringle Bay?

I tried to contact De Waal's family via social media, without success. His last entry on Facebook was on November 6, 2023: “Yesterday we held my 75th birthday party [his birthday was on October 29] at our house with dear friends.

“On my birthday we ate food that my mother made for me as a child, which is the Dutch version of sauerkraut (quite different from the German version, and there were three Germans at the table).

“It was such a fun night, also because Mark Mitton, who is a professional magician and friend, was there from New York. He performed some mind-boggling stunts that we simply couldn't believe."

Barely four months later, his wife, Catherine Marin, posted on De Waals's Facebook page: “With deep sadness I have to share the devastating news of Frans' death. He passed away on March 14, 2024 in our home in Georgia, in Stone Mountain."

De Waal died of stomach cancer and is survived by Catherine, whom he married in 1980, and his brothers Ferd, Wim, Hans, Vincent and Steven.

Go here for more information:

• The surprising science of alpha males
• Moral behaviour in animals
• This is a dated video but still relevant perhaps: Keeswyfies in Pringlebaai doodgeskiet.

♦ VWB ♦

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